


this isn't our first time around

by killproof



Series: all my past lives (they got nothin' on me) [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Background Hunk/Shay/Allura, Genderfluid Lance (Voltron), M/M, Reincarnation, Trans Keith (Voltron), mlm author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 00:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13535913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killproof/pseuds/killproof
Summary: If you ask Lance, it's a sign of a higher power that all they needed to do to remember was make fun of Keith’s hair.Specifically, a higher power making fun of them both.





	this isn't our first time around

**Author's Note:**

> title from “past lives” by BØRNS 
> 
> since it was requested, here’s the lance pov sequel my reincarnation au
> 
> this is very late but im gay and depressed so! yep

Lance doesn’t know what drew them to Altea Prep. 

 

The main thing they remember was seeing the pamphlet and feeling a strange twinge that told them  _ ‘yep, that’s the one’.  _ They know enough to trust their gut on things like that─though it did help ease their nervousness that Altea was a well-renowned school.

 

Even now, looking at the insignia and wide, sloping letters on the cover of their planner, at the start of their junior year, they're still not entirely sure what it was that made them feel the unbidden  _ need _ to go here. They guess they shouldn't question a good thing when they have it─they wouldn't have met Hunk or Katie if they hadn't enrolled. But there's still something strange about that needling feeling; the one that told them to apply, the one that makes them feel like they've known Hunk much longer than they actually have, the one that makes Katie’s name stick in their mouth strangely, like it’s the wrong thing to call her. 

 

The one that keeps telling him someone’s still missing.

 

It’s a strange thing to think─but they remember whenever they turn to explain a joke to someone who isn’t there, barely knowing why they thought they had to explain it in the first place. They remember every time they eye the empty spot at their table at lunch, knowing it’s not  _ really _ empty when no one was there in the first place, but still feeling like there should be someone sitting next to Katie.

 

They briefly entertain the thought that they’re being haunted, but they dismiss it on the ground that there would probably be a lot more weird shit happening past ‘ _someone-I-have-never-met-is-missing’_ intrusive thoughts if a ghost had really decided to hang around them. But it’s still strange to get thoughts like that─it’s like an unfinished puzzle that they’re missing half the pieces to, but their brain keeps trying to mentally fill in the spaces. 

 

Surprisingly, it does not take any weird rituals or other supernaturally affiliated goings-on for the thoughts to go away. It takes them looking up reflexively at the grating sound of metal before the bell in their English class. It takes their eyes catching on a boy sitting in the back corner, hair dark and unruly where it pokes out under his hood and eyes piercing under the glint of glasses lenses. It takes a look from their new classmate, confused and intrigued at the same time, that snaps them out of it and makes them aware of the inexplicable thought bouncing around their head:

 

_ Finally. _

 

✦

 

At first, Lance thought it was a fluke. They ignore the strange, insistent feeling that they  _ know _ Keith each time it resurfaces with traded glances across the room in English and polite nods in the hallway whenever they manage to run into each other, because─that’s ridiculous, right? They’ve spoken to him  _ once, _ and it was barely long enough to get his name.

 

But the thing is, it keeps happening. Keith keeps turning up─in English class, through Lance’s regular hallway route, past the door of club rooms after school, and now, in their advisory. At least now they know  _ why _ Keith turned up seemingly out of nowhere, but it’s still strange. They feel it in the buzz of their fingertips, stained with the blue-and-white residue of facepaint and─though they’re reluctant to admit it─still tingling with warmth where they touched Keith’s skin.

 

They absolutely do not think about this past that point. They do not think about how surprisingly smooth Keith’s skin was, if he uses anything or if he's just super lucky, they do not think about how his eyes widened a bit when they leaned forward, or how maybe he thought they were going to kiss him for a second and wow that’s weird, but it’s not like they would be  _ opposed _ to─

 

It’s besides the point. They definitely aren’t dwelling on it.

 

They startle when Hunk taps their shoulder, jolting in their seat a bit and turning around. Hunk raises his hands in surrender, giving Lance a strange look.

 

“Whoa, dude. It’s just me,” He says, stepping down from the row above him and settling onto the bleacher next to them. “I was just saying hi to Shay and Allura. Did you know Shay’s on track this year?” He asks excitedly, grinning at the mention of his girlfriends. Lance shakes their head.

 

“Nope. That’s pretty cool, though.” They look back out over the crowd on the field, scanning for the shock of white hair that could only belong to Allura. “Allura’s doing softball again this year, right? Where is she?” Hunk shrugs.

 

“Shay said they were gonna go hang out before the rally starts, so my best guess...they’re still back by the doors, and Allura’s  _ ‘doing her facepaint’ _ by kissing her cheeks.” He offers, with a poorly attempted mimic of Allura’s accent. “Which is gonna be adorable, if I’m right.”

 

“Nice, she took my advice on the blue lipstick.” They say, beaming proudly. They falter for a moment. “Oh, uh─and speaking of where people are, have you seen Keith?” They ask sheepishly. Hunk’s eyebrows raise, and he gives Lance a look that says  _ ‘I know what you’re  _ really _ asking me, and you aren’t subtle’. _

 

“Yeah, I saw him on my way over.” He says, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. He watches carefully as Lance leans around him to verify that Keith is there, expression somewhere between confusion and an outright frown. “Are you, like… _ okay,  _ dude?”  Hunk asks after a moment. Lance straightens up, giving him an incredulous look.

 

“What? Yeah, of course, why would you ask that?” They say, fast-paced and defensive in a way that they think they wouldn't believe for a second if someone had said to them.  _ At least I’m self-aware,  _ they think, quickly dismissing that line of thinking as Hunk shrugs.

 

“I dunno, ever since Keith got here you've been acting weird. Allura asked me if you two knew each other.” He says. Lance purses their lips thoughtfully. 

 

“It's just,” They sigh, frowning. “Does he seem, like… _ familiar _ to you?” Hunk pauses at that, blinking. He glances back toward Keith, perched on the far end of the bleachers with earbuds jammed in, staring intently out at the field. Looking closer, Lance realizes his gaze is following the marching band’s movement, calculated and oddly focused. 

 

“Huh,” Hunk says, interrupting their thoughts. “You know what? He kind of does.” 

 

“Yeah,” Lance replies distractedly, not looking away as Keith’s dark eyes continue tracing the band’s movements. “Weird, right?”

 

✦

 

“Fifth week in a row,” Hunk says when Keith yet again shows up to lunch completely soaked. “You're on a roll.” 

 

Lance has eventually learned that asking garners absolutely zero answers when it comes to Keith, but they don't even think it  _ rained  _ today. They're starting to wonder if he just jumps in the lake before lunch for the hell of it.  

 

“You look like a mop with your hair like that,” they announce as the waterlogged boy sits down with a wet  _ plop,  _ grimacing. 

 

“Shut up,” he grouses, shrugging his soaked jacket off his shoulders and, ignoring Lance’s noise of protest, wringing it out on the floor like a dish towel.

 

“I hate you. I actually hate you,” Lance declares, glaring at the offending garment. “This is like, the seventeenth time you've come to lunch soaked, anyway. Are you a spy?” Keith pauses, setting his jacket down on the cafeteria bench and giving Lance a look of mixed confusion and fury. 

 

“Why─why would this,” he starts, gesturing widely at himself. “Have  _ anything  _ to do with espionage?” He asks, sounding genuinely frustrated. Sometimes it's almost funny how easy it is to wind him up.

 

“Espionage,” Lance says, nodding sagely. “Killer word choice.”

 

“Cheaply dodges the question,” Keith shoots back, quirking an eyebrow. Katie firmly shoves her pencil point into his shoulder for the continued echo of her words the first week he showed up like this, and the slightly pained noise he makes is apparently satisfying enough to placate her, because her attention immediately goes back to her notebook. Lance grimaces at Keith in return, a mocking facsimile of his original response to Katie’s words. Maturely, Keith sticks his tongue out at them. 

 

Keith grumbles something under his breath and tugs his (suspiciously dry, more evidence for the lake theory)  backpack onto the bench, digging into it and extracting his phone and earbuds, shoving them in firmly as if trying to break them. Lance scoots over minutely, glancing at his screen to see what song he's pressing play on. They lean closer to try and see past the frankly  _ ridiculous _ low brightness Keith always has his phone set on, and Keith sighs, turning the brightness up to show Spotify displaying some desperately indie song Lance doesn’t recognize.

 

“You know you're not subtle, right?” He says, taking out one earbud and offering it to them. They grin widely, accepting it and ignoring the faint spark they feel against their fingers when their hand brushes with Keith’s. The music drifts soft into their ear, and a few more songs play before Lance hears an unmistakable opening note. 

 

“Holy crow,” They start, absolutely thrilled. “You’re listening to MCR.” Keith pales, fumbling to take back his earbud.

 

“No, nope, no I’m not.” He says hurriedly, even as Lance hears the distinct instrumental of  _ The Black Parade _ fade into the first verse. They swat Keith away, grinning and holding a hand solidly over their ear, preventing him from ripping the earbud away.

 

“You  _ are!” _ They exclaim. “Oh my god, this is the best day of my life.”

 

“Shut  _ up,  _ Lance.” Keith says, good-natured tone contrasting how Lance expects he  _ wanted  _ those words to come out. They gently punch him in the shoulder, laughing a bit. He just rolls his eyes and turns the volume up, embarrassment apparently fading─Lance is sort of glad for that, given that usually he attempts to punch back and is  _ very _ terrible at judging where playful ends and genuinely painful begins. 

 

Despite the next few songs on shuffle being just as generically emo (which isn’t  _ unexpected _ of Keith, but it’s always a little funny), Lance somehow finds themself enjoying it. It’s not that they actually like the genre all that much─they’re more a fan of upbeat, poppy songs─but there’s something about the way Keith wholeheartedly  _ loves _ the music that manages to sway them, at least for the moment.

 

Lance closes their eyes and lets the music (they think it's The Cure or something, but it sounds all soft and slow, wrapping around them) overtake the sound of the  crowded cafeteria around them, absentmindedly letting their head drop to Keith's shoulder. They don't even notice they fell asleep until Keith’s nudging them back awake, big brown eyes peering down at them with concern written all over his  _ stupidly  _ open expression.

 

“Hey,” they mumble. The song playing now is soft and radio-filtered, and the earbud in Lance’s ear has started to hurt a bit where it presses into his skin. 

 

“Did you get enough sleep last night?” Keith asks, frowning. Lance nods their head, then yawns, effectively killing their case. They roll their shoulders in a stretch, glancing around the table. 

 

“Where’d Hunk and Katie go?” They ask, turning back to Keith. 

 

“Katie threatened to draw on your face when you fell asleep,” Keith says, gaze drifting curiously over Lance’s cheeks as if he's imagining the hypothetical graffiti. “So Hunk distracted her with robotics and they went over to the lab.” 

 

“A true bro,” Lance says sagely, folding their arms on the table and dropping their head onto the makeshift pillow. They peer up at Keith for a moment, guitar still filtering gently through their shared earbuds, and for a reason they can't explain, they're hit with another wave of déjà vu. 

 

They've been feeling that a lot lately, around Keith. 

 

“Do you feel like we've met before?” Lance asks suddenly, and─and they honestly don't know  _ why _ they say it. They just sit there washed in the immediate sense of regret and horror that comes with it, only able to watch Keith’s shoulders stiffen and his face screw up in confusion as they mentally berate themself for the blurted-out question. 

 

“No. Why?” Keith replies, sharp-edged and clipped. It's the tone that rears its head whenever he doesn't really want to be talking, but─it also turns up when he's lying. 

 

Lance decides not to think about that option too hard.

 

“Don't worry about it,” they say after a moment. Keith’s eyebrows furrow, lips pursing like he wants to ask more questions, but he’s interrupted by Hunk plopping down next to them at the table again, and then they're talking about his new robotics project. 

 

Keith doesn't bring it up again, but he sits in the library at lunch for the next few days. 

 

✦

 

“Kaaaatiiiieeeee,” Lance whines, collapsed over half the cafeteria table. “I'm  _ bored.” _

 

“Go find Keith and bother him, then.” She says without a hint of pity, glasses pushed up on her head so her bangs stick out wild and choppy around the frames.

 

“Yeah, but─” They start, cutting themself off with a frown. Hunk glances at them from where he's been flipping through his Chemistry textbook. He must be able to read their expression pretty easily, because he closes the book with a quiet  _ thump _ and nudges their shoulder.

 

“Hey, man, just ‘cause he hasn't been hanging out with us as much doesn't mean he's pissed off or something.” Hunk says, smiling gently. It gets Katie’s attention, and she leans forward from across the table.

 

“Yeah, he's just being Keith. C’mon, we've been friends with him long enough to know how broody he gets.” She says. Lance rests their cheek on their hand, letting out a frustrated huff of breath.

 

“I know, but like…I dunno. I made it weird.” They say. Katie raises an eyebrow. 

 

“What do you mean?” She asks, sounding genuinely curious.

 

“Last week─y'know, when you said you were gonna draw on my face, we were talking,” They start, disregarding the glance Hunk and Katie exchange. “And I asked him if he felt like we’d  _ met before, _ that’s totally crazy, right? Who  _ does _ that?” They say, blurting it out in one breath and sounding a bit more hysterical than they'd like. Katie snorts.

 

“That's not  _ crazy,  _ dumbass. It's just you asking weird existential questions.” She says, rolling her eyes. 

 

“I mean,” Hunk begins thoughtfully, pursing his lips. “You felt like you knew him from the  _ start,  _ buddy. Maybe he did too and just…doesn't wanna talk about it?”

 

“But why would he not want to unless─” Katie starts to argue, but trails off abruptly. A strange, blank look falls over Hunk and Katie’s faces, blinking at each other with some strange mutual realization. They glance between each other and Lance, and Lance frowns, suddenly feeling very much out of the loop.

 

“What? You're looking at me weird. What's the deal?” They ask. Hunk and Katie seem to snap out of it when they speak, but instead of replying Hunk’s mouth snaps shut, and he and Katie look at each other, some unspoken message passing between them. 

 

“Uh,” Hunk coughs. “Nothing. It's nothing. Right, P─Katie? Katie.” 

 

“Absolutely nothing,” She says, completely unconvincing. Lance squints at them suspiciously, trying to decide if it's worth pursuing. 

 

“...Alright,” they say after a moment, drawing out the vowels in a way they hope conveys the message  _ ‘I don't trust this at all but you're off the hook for now’.  _ It makes Hunk sufficiently nervous, and he stands up suddenly, gathering up his notes and Chemistry textbook.

 

“Well,” He says hurriedly. “Me and Katie are gonna─go to the robotics lab.” 

 

“You should go find Keith,” Katie says, trying and failing to pass off the request as casual. Lance’s frown deepens. Something is  _ definitely  _ going on.

 

“But─” They start, cut off by the strangely serious look Katie fixes them with.

 

“Lance,” she says slowly. “Go find Keith.” 

 

✦

 

So they do. Not because they're  _ scared _ of Katie, or something, but last time she was that serious about them doing something, they didn't and got pranked  _ mercilessly.  _

 

He’s in the library, as excepted─Lance is not ashamed to say that they know his usual seat by now. Keith has an as-of-yet unbroken track record of picking the same place to sit, the same side to walk on, the same route to follow for his classes,  _ everything.  _ It's one of the few predictable things about him. 

 

“Hey,” they say, plopping down unceremoniously across the table from Keith, snorting when he startles a bit.

 

“Uh─hi?” He says, the intonation questioning. Lance just grins, gaze flicking over Keith’s face in subconscious appraisal. His hair has been getting longer lately─the black-brown fringe nearly reaches the middle of his glasses lenses, now. Lance isn't sure if he's doing it on purpose or just hasn't had time, but it's another part of him that's so inexplicably  _ familiar  _ it aches. 

 

Keith frowns, brows furrowed and nose wrinkling in a way that forces his glasses to slip down his nose a bit. 

 

“Did you want something, or are you just here to bother me?” He asks, though it's painfully obvious that Lance is not, and never  _ will _ be bothering him with things like this. And they truly do mean to reply with something along those lines, but─

 

They lean forward, almost reflexively, hand lifting to push Keith's glasses back up. They linger a moment, the pad of their thumb shifting from the bridge of his glasses to settle against the jut of his nose. Their eyes follow the movement, feeling the flat of bone that leads into cartilage─softer, more yielding to their touch. 

 

“Did you break your nose, here?” They ask, tracing back to the bump of his bridge, eyes flicking up to catch his gaze. Keith stares back, open-mouthed, bright red blooming over his cheeks, and Lance is suddenly  _ very _ aware of how close they are. They jerk back, hand dropping from Keith's face, and clear their throat awkwardly. The sound seems to snap Keith out of it, and he blinks, flush fading.

 

“Um, no.” He coughs, averting his gaze. “It's just─it's just like that.”

 

“Cool,” Lance says weakly. “Um, you know what? I think I hear the five minute warning, so gottagobye!” They fumble, standing up jerkily and walking away as fast as possible, barely catching Keith’s confused  _ ‘but there's ten minutes’ _ as they dash towards the library entrance. 

 

They skid unceremoniously into Katie at the door, narrowly avoiding crashing into her altogether. 

 

“Jesus, Katie!” Lance exclaims, still flustered from the interaction with Keith and hoping hue red on their face has died down by nowhere. “I thought you went to the robotics lab!”

 

“Well damn, you mean this  _ isn't  _ the robotics lab?” She says drily. Lance grimaces, making their way out of the doorway so as to not block it and starting to walk towards their next period. Katie follows along leisurely, apparently having nowhere else to be. 

 

“Soooo…” she says, eyeing them curiously. “I'm guessing you didn't bother talking to Keith about the whole  _ familiar _ thing, based on that disastrous interaction.” Lance stiffens. 

 

“You saw that?” They ask nervously. 

 

“You blatantly yet unsuccessfully making a move on Keith?” Katie asks, adjusting her glasses. “Maybe so.”

 

“You aren't allowed to use good memes while you're  _ insulting _ me.” Lance huffs, arms crossed over their chest. “And I wasn't  _ making a move _ on him, I don't even like Keith like that.” They say. Katie seems surprised at that, stopping the both of them short and tugging Lance over to the side of the hallway, eyeing them skeptically. 

 

“You don't?” She says, squinting at them like they've been replaced by a body double. Lance doesn't quite _appreciate_ how she says it─like it's some big reveal, as if them having a _crush_ on Keith was an undisputed fact and it's a sign of the oncoming apocalypse that they're disagreeing. 

 

“I, I mean,” they splutter, waving their hands like it could physically clear the air. “He's great and all, but we─we're just  _ friends.”  _ Horrifyingly, they feel their cheeks flushing hot, which isn't exactly helping their case. 

 

Katie raises her eyebrows, doubt written plainly over her expression. She stares them down for a good few seconds before they break, speaking up again. 

 

“I don't like Keith,” they insist. Katie shrugs, apparently nonplussed.

 

“Okay, got it.” She says.

 

“I don't!” They repeat, a bit too loud to keep the calm facade they were aiming for.

 

“I'm  _ agreeing _ with you!” She says, bewildered. 

 

“About what?” A voice says from behind them, and Lance absolutely does  _ not _ yelp, or jump a little bit when they realize Keith is right there and  _ oh god how much of that did he overhear.  _

 

“Lance was just telling me how─” Lance claps a hand over Katie’s mouth, cutting off what was bound to be a painfully embarrassing admission. 

 

“How much I hate history!” They say, a bit too enthusiastic. Keith frowns, and for some reason Lance’s stomach twists when they remember that history is his favorite class. 

 

“Do you have a really shitty teacher, or something?” Keith asks, which is…not what Lance was expecting. They blink, apparently letting the silence drag on too long, because Katie answers for them. She and Keith start to walk again, complaining about their respective teachers. 

 

Keith tosses a glance over his shoulder at Lance, an unspoken  _ ‘are you coming?’,  _ and they snap out of it, jogging to catch up.  They let Keith and Katie ramble on about the implications of referring to a teacher with or without the Mx. title, and somewhere along the way find themself staring. 

 

Their eyes follow the slope of Keith’s shoulders, how his dark hair curls against the nape of his neck, the inexplicably endearing way his nose wrinkles when he's particularly annoyed or confused by something, why is that even  _ cute─ _

 

And they start to think that maybe Katie isn't that far off, after all.

 

✦

 

If you ask Lance, it's a sign of a higher power that all they needed to do to remember was make fun of Keith’s hair. 

 

Specifically, a higher power making fun of them both. 

 

“I mean, come _on,”_ they say a few days after what they've chosen to refer to as the Mullet Incident. “I bother you by calling you mullet for _years,_ and now it just so happens to be the magic trigger?”

 

“Sometimes things are literally just coincidences, Lance.” Keith sighs. “Like you said, you called me that for years. It's not surprising that it…helped things along.” Lance hums in reluctant agreement, swinging their joined hands between them. 

 

“Well,” they announce, their breath puffing out foggy in the winter air. “Either way, I'm still shocked and appalled that you grew the mullet again.” Keith snorts.

 

“You're the one who still kissed me after talking about how much you hate my hair,” he points out. “Both times.” 

 

_ “Shocked and appalled,”  _ Lance repeats, because they don't have a good argument against that. “I can't believe I'm giving up warm hands for a guy with a mullet.” 

 

“Hm, you are.” Keith says smugly. “Not my fault you only have mittens, though.” Then he smiles, a bit crooked and stupidly charming, and what is Lance supposed to do with that but lean in and kiss him again? 

 

They feel how Keith’s lips curve up into a smile against their mouth, and they don't know how they went without this for so long, because  _ damn,  _ how could they forget─

 

“Oh my god,” Lance says, breaking away abruptly as they realize something. “Hunk and Pidge.” Keith frowns, raising an eyebrow at them.

 

“That's the topic you're gonna go with right now? Really?” He says drily. 

 

“No! Keith, oh my god, they  _ know _ and they didn't say anything!” They gasp, very suddenly feeling betrayed, because of  _ course _ that was what happened at lunch! Hunk almost  _ forgot _ to call her Katie, ugh, he's the worst at secrets. Keith sighs, shoulders drawn up. 

 

“Okay, I'm guessing you're gonna have to give me the full story later, but─” he bites at his lip nervously, gaze darting to the side. “I…missed this. I missed  _ you.  _ Could we worry about other stuff later?” He says, so softly and  _ genuinely _ that Lance’s heart forgets to beat for a few seconds. 

 

“That,” They say, beaming. “Was so sweet. And gay.”

 

“Mostly gay,” Keith says with a shrug. “Don't start crying on me again.” Lance rolls their eyes, squeezing his hand. 

 

“Shut up, tear stains don't show up on black.” They retort. Keith laughs at that, eyes crinkling up at the corners, and Lance doesn't even bother trying to hide the absolutely  _ smitten _ way they're sure they're looking at him. 

 

“Does being your boyfriend for like…three days mean it's too soon to say I'm sort of ridiculously in love with you?” They say, tilting their head curiously and fully anticipating how the admission makes Keith choke on nothing. 

 

“You─you just said it anyway,” he splutters, turning a satisfying shade of pink that has nothing to do with how cold it is outside. “And does that even count as how long we've dated if─y’know.” He says, gesturing between them.

 

“If we were space-married before?” Lance finishes for him, grinning. Keith’s cheeks flush completely red, and he turns his head, blatantly avoiding eye contact.

 

“Y-yeah. That.” He says. Lance moves their free hand to Keith’s jaw, feeling shocks of warmth against their numb fingertips as they turn his head towards them again and lean in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Keith makes a surprised noise against their mouth, and they swallow it eagerly.

 

“I was lying,” Lance says quietly when they separate, foreheads still pressed together. “I really like your hair.” They know it's an echo of a conversation the two of them have already had under different circumstances, but they feel as though it's a necessary confession all the same. 

 

“I know,” Keith breathes out into the space between them. “You aren't subtle.”


End file.
